All people have a slightly different bowel habit and there is a large range of what is considered normal. Some people go to open their bowels once or a few times every day and others may only go once every few days. Changes may occur depending on what we eat and drink but a persistent change can mean an underlying bowel problem. This may mean an infection or inflammation in the gut but is also a sign of bowel cancer so seeing a specialist is important to find out of the cause is something more serious and needs treatment.